Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill admits he still cannot promise Emile Heskey a first team berth despite understanding his concerns about how this could affect his England World Cup chances. "There is a frustration factor with players when they are not playing," O'Neill said on Friday.

"It is ironic that Emile is playing regularly for England at the moment and not playing regularly for us.

"The England manager, for the most part, wants his players to be playing regularly for their club sides. That is the situation for England to decide upon.

"I'm not here to guarantee people places in the team and I think Emile accepts that viewpoint.

"I do have some empathy with him because he has done exceptionally well for England and guided them to the World Cup in relatively quick time.

"He has made a very good impression with Fabio Capello and would want to be in the starting line-up more often here."